Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves left for Cuba on Tuesday and is expected to spend two weeks there to receive treatment for an injury to his right thigh.
The office of the Prime Minister said in a statement on Monday that the 68-year-old Gonsalves had injured his rectus femoris, and the injury has seriously affected his mobility.
It is the second time this year that Gonsalves is receiving medical treatment abroad.
In May, Gonsalves underwent a surgical procedure in Europe to correct what he described as “niggling pain” where a surgical procedure has been done in Barbados, after he developed medical problem on his way to the Middle East two years earlier.
In April of this year, doctors had ordered Gonsalves to rest as a result of an ankle injury, the Prime Minister said he sustained in his bathroom.
In July, Gonsalves was seen walking with a slight limp, and told reporters that he had injured his knee, but added that the injury was not a serious one.
Elson Crick, communications consultant in the Office of the Prime Minister, told I-Witness News on Tuesday that Gonsalves was accompanied on his trip to Cuba by his wife, Eloise Gonsalves, two security officers, and physio-therapist Denis Byam.
TOUCH NOT THE LORD,S ANOINTED AND DO HIS PROPHET NO HARM , THAT WHAT THE ASSBISHOP GET FOR SPEAKING ILL OF THE BISHOP.
Whilst you all rush to send your sympathies and get well soon cards and emails, I will lay out a few home truths.
Damage to the rectus femoris is more than often a sports injury, and is also known to occur in extremely obese persons. Or as one of my medical books explains, the rectus femoris is one of the powerful quadriceps muscles. A rupture of the tendon at the top of the muscle near the hip can result from overuse or explosive loads on the muscle.
We do not know what is physically wrong with Gonsalves even if Elson Crick tells us the story that he was instructed to give us, because that story could only have come from Gonsalves himself, so for me that makes the story suspect. We know that Gonsalves tells lies, he told us so himself, since then we have experienced many lies. I am actually compiling a list at this very moment of known and proven lies.
Over the years, even since the 1970s Gonsalves and his comrades have said on numerous occasions that someone is trying to kill him. He has given numerous stories over the last few years of illness and accidents, two in slipping over in his bathroom on the tiles. On the first occasion he had all the tiles changed at an enormous expense. He had a motor car accident, run to Cuba who at the same time supposedly fixed something he had wrong with his foot since he was a child. Foot, ankle, knee, hip, lesions not declaring where, back, front, up, down, in, out, give me a doctors report and a may take notice. He has had surgical procedures in Barbados, England, Cuba, and I am sure several other countries. We have never really known what those procedures were. Except when he visited Taiwan after surgery in Barbados, he took a nurse with him to change his dressings, even then we did not know what had been dressed.
The thing that he never does is make use of our hospital in Kingstown, he and his family stay as far away as possible from the Milton Cato hospital. Whilst we have to suffer the no medicines, no dressings, no proper pain relief except dosing us up with morphine, which in the case of very old people in large doses is liable to kill them.
Our hospital more times than not has no medicines, no dressings, no saline drips for re-hydration, a friend of mine at the hospital even said they are having to wash disposable catheters and use them several times over, not always with same patient. Nothing, at times not even bed-sheets and pillow-cases or toilet paper.
Gonsalves has gone to Cuba, we cannot blame him for that, but we can blame him for what is happening in our hospitals and clinics.
We can blame him for spending money on unnecessary people such as Vincentian police officer security guards and a physiotherapist, because they can be employed in Cuba for peanuts. Why does he need Vincentian police security guards in his dream land of Marxist milk and honey? why? Is it just for show? like the Castros always have a minimum of two security Guards wherever they go, even at their homes. Will he have a Vincentian police guard sitting outside his hospital room like in the movies. Or will they all be on the beach playing volley ball.
Whilst I am at it I will remind you about Heberprot P, you must visit that page again, because it still applies. They are still cutting off our citizens feet when they could be saved.
https://www.iwnsvg.com/2013/09/22/svg-amputation-capital-of-the-caribbean/comment-page-1/
I so mistrust the word of PM Gonsalves that I have even considered him using this situation which I believe may be concocted, to get a sympathy votes in the upcoming general elections.
He has completely lost my trust by things he has done and said.
“I sometimes tell lies”
“show me a liar and I will show you a thief”
“I am here to finish the work of Maurice Bishop”
“If I work Obeah I only work Obeah for the Lord”
“this is the best agreement the teachers have ever had”
” the airport is being built and paid for by a Coalition of the Willing”
“our hospital is among the finest in the Caribbean”
To make it worse folks, I wrote this six hours ago, left it and went to Kingstown, I have just returned from a meeting with a Gonsalves joined at the hip supporter, who told me Gonsalves has got ‘chikungunya’ she told me that he flew out in a private jet on Tuesday, and another minister flew out on Monday, again in a private jet for Cuba, yet again ‘chikungunya’. I laughed and told her it was a silly tale, she assured me that she is right, straight from the horses mouth she said. Howz about that then? She has given me superb truthful information on numerous occasions before, so I believe her.
I am waiting for all you paid collaborators to shout Ralph hater, I am not, but I do not like the way the man conducts himself. If I hate anything it is that.
Why the PM have to go to Cuba for treatment when he said in NYC that St Vincentt is second to none in the Caribbean when it comes to health care?
Cucumber heel, again.
I hope NDP is taking note of Ralph travel overseas for medical treatment. They should point out that he stifled health care for SVG nationals because he and his supporters can travel abroad for treatment. Meanwhile basic health care for all Vincentians is not on his radar.
This is an easy sell for the NDP because it covers all Vincentians – NDP and ULP.
By going to cuba, your pm is telling svg that it’s health care system is crap. You can’t get a better endorsement than that, but the people choose him. Don’t forget, it’s the tax payers money who’s paying for all this. good governance.